At Least Five Mourning Mothers Arrested by Ministry of Information

HRANA – At least five Mourning Mothers have been arrested in an attack by the Ministry of Information on February 8, 2010.

According to HRANA, On Monday, February 8, security forces went to the residence of one of the Mourning Mothers (identity withheld). They searched her house, confiscated her items, and arrested her. The family of the arrested mother said the following names were mentioned in the warrant: Leila Seyfi Elahi, Zhila Karamzadeh Makvandi, Fatemeh Rastegar, Goli Hosseini, and Manijeh Taheri.

There are no reports about the extent of the arrests and the final tally of the arrested mothers. Unofficial sources have confirmed at least 19 members of Mourning Mothers have been arrested. More documentation is needed [to confirm the news].

The Mourning Mothers group was founded in June 2009 by mothers who had lost their children after the the death of Neda Agha Soltan and Sohrab Arabi.

The main demand of the Mourning Mothers has been [to receive] a response by Islamic Republic officials regarding the unjust deaths, disappearances, and detention of their children.